Section 4: Divorce for fault

Divorce may be sought by either spouse where acts constituting a serious or repeated breach of the duties and obligations of marriage are attributable to his or her spouse and make it intolerable to continue living together.

The reconciliation of the spouses that has taken place since the alleged events prevents them from being invoked as grounds for divorce. The judge will then declare the application inadmissible. A new application may, however, be made on the basis of facts that have occurred or been discovered since the reconciliation, in which case the old facts may be recalled in support of the new application. The maintenance or temporary…

The faults of the spouse who initiated the divorce do not prevent his or her application from being examined; they may, however, remove from the facts of which he or she accuses his or her spouse the character of seriousness that would have made them grounds for divorce. These faults may also be invoked by the other spouse in support of a counterclaim for divorce. If both applications are granted,…

At the request of the spouses, the judge may confine himself or herself to stating in the grounds of the judgment that there are facts constituting grounds for divorce, without having to set out the parties’ wrongs and grievances.

If an application for definitive alteration of the marriage bond and an application for fault are made concurrently, the judge shall examine the application for fault first.